The European Union has established a network of depository libraries across the US to provide Americans with access to many of its official publications. All depositories automatically receive, free of charge, one copy of most EU periodical and monograph publications. The collections are available to the public during each library's regular hours of operation, free of charge and without any conditions. Many of the libraries also offer interlibrary loan services.

The official publications contain information ranging from policy developments in all sectors of EU activity to statistics on trade, demographics, agriculture, transport, energy and economic indicators.

Of particular importance is the Official Journal of the European Union, the approximate equivalent of the US Federal Register. The "C" section of the Official Journal includes important notices and other information; the "C E" electronic (only) section contains proposed legislation; the "C A" section contains special annexes to legislation and notices of competitions for EU employment; the "L" section has the final texts of legislation. Annual indices and the Directory of Community Legislation in Force provide subject and numeric reference access to legislation. Depository collections routinely receive the "C" and "L" sections and indices and may receive the "C A" section by request. The "C E" section is available on EUR-Lex--the portal to EU law--as are all versions of the Official Journal from 1998 to present free of charge. Depositories also hold the legislative proposals and communications of the Commission in their original "COM" document form, as well as reports and debates of the European Parliament (also available on EUROPARL), opinions of the European Economic and Social Committee and decisions of the Court of Justice (also available on Curia). European Documentation Centres elsewhere in the world may be found here.

Click on state on map or click here for complete text list of depository libraries.